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Russia At Least 18 Dead After Ukrainian Shelling Inside Russia; Presidential Immunity Fight; U.S. Officials Describe "Productive Meeting" With Mexico As Biden Under Pressure Over Immigrant Surge; Mayor Victor Trevino (I-Laredo, TX) Discusses The Immigration Crisis At The Southern Border; Netanyahu: War With Hamas At Its "Highest Level," Will "Last Many Months"; Top-10 Crime Stories Of 2023. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 30, 2023 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[16:59:59]

PAULA REID, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Reid in Washington.

We begin with a deadly attack on the Russian city of Belgorod. Russian officials say Ukrainian shelling killed at least 18 people, including two children, earlier today. This comes just a day after Russia's biggest air attack on Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, resulting in more than three dozen deaths.

CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is tracking all the latest developments for us. He joins us now from London.

Nic, we're now hearing Russian missile were launched from Belgorod into Ukraine. What more do you know?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, that seems to be a strike back from Russia just across the border in (INAUDIBLE) hitting a hotel, damaging some hospitals there as well where they're saying about 20 people were injured there. It's not clear if that's a response for what happened in Belgorod today by the Ukrainian attacks, but it certainly looks that way.

The attack today from the Russian perspective in Belgorod was really the worst cross-border strike that they've seen, they say at least, since the war began.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: In the middle of the Russian city Belgorod, the fiery aftermath of a suspected Ukrainian rocket attack. Russian officials claiming it was a massive assault, using Ukrainian and Czech-made ammunition, fired from a multi-barreled rocket launcher, some of which they claim to have intercepted.

IGOR KONASHENKOV, SPOKESPERSON, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY (through translator): The Kyiv regime by carrying out indiscriminate attacks on squares and committing this crime is trying to divert attention from defeats at the front, as well as provoke us to similar actions.

ROBERTSON: The death toll, including children, climbing through the day. It comes the day after Russia launched its biggest air assault on Ukraine in almost two years of war, at least 40 people were killed, more than 150 injured.

The Ukrainian strike on Belgorod, barely 20 miles from its border Saturday is its deadliest known cross-border attack of the war, according to Belgorod's governor.

Putin dispatched his health minister and an emergency ministry team. Three months out from his upcoming election, the chaos dents his carefully-created image of a war going well.

It's unclear if this was Ukrainian revenge, and Ukrainian officials don't routinely comment about this type of attack, but the up tempo does seem to speak to frustrations, fears even, and a determination in Ukraine that absent the financial support that they need from their allies, they can still land blows and thwart Putin's aggression.

Russia's U.N. spokesperson called for an emergency U.N. Security Council session to censure Ukraine much as Russia was the previous night for their massive air assault. Russia's defense ministry says the attack will not go unpunished.

By late Saturday, Russia attacked Ukraine in Kharkiv, with drones. More deaths can be expected.

ROBERTSON: And perhaps no surprise, really, listening to the Russian ambassador, who got a second turn to speak at the U.N. Security Council which of course, that's the rules, that's what he's able to do, he then picked up on what other representatives have said around the table there, saying that this is not about criticizing Russia because Russia started the war, they've obviously taken some heat on that and he didn't like it.

He then started blaming the West for Russia invading Ukraine. So, whatever's going to be the outcome at the U.N. Security Council today is certainly not going to shift the Russian response to the war and what's happening around them.

REID: Thank you, Nic Robertson.

We want to keep you here and bring in CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier into the conversation. Kim, as Nic just mentioned, the U.N. Security Council just wrapped up a meeting after Russia called for an emergency session following that attack. How do you think this will impact the support Ukraine has had from the international community?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, from the international community's perspective this is still Russia's war on Ukraine -- a war of aggression. So, the majority of the people who voted with Ukraine against Russia, the Security Council and throughout the U.N., are going to stay on Kyiv's side on this.

[17:04:46] DOZIER: But what it does point out is that Russia is being able to bring into stark relief the contrast of U.S. support for Israel versus U.S. continued attempts to keep allies and partners together in support of Ukraine. They're able to say, look, one of our cities was attacked, we too, have a right to complain.

It just sort of muddies the waters, especially in this larger fight for influence around the world. It is only western countries that have actually sanctioned Russia for the invasion, largely countries in Asia, the global South, Africa have not.

REID: And Kim, the Russian defense ministry is accusing Ukraine of using cluster munitions and indiscriminately striking large areas. How does that contrast to the complaints we've heard from Ukraine that they are running low on ammunition and manpower?

DOZIER: Well, the Biden administration openly provided Ukraine with cluster munitions, but that was also supported by the fact at the time that Ukrainian officials, U.S. officials, and international officials had reported Russia's use of similar types of munitions on the ground.

So, this was a matter of using what was in U.S. stockpiles that was available, as U.S. stockpiles and western stockpiles are running low.

What Ukraine is worried about right now, and Ukrainian's foreign minister just gave an interview to "The Kyiv Independent" about this, is that western munitions factories haven't laid on new supply lines to churn out enough to keep Ukraine's war effort going, while Russia has stepped up its internal manufacturing and has also outsourced a number of those drones for instance that were used in the December 29th attack across Ukraine, were manufactured in Iran.

REID: That's interesting. Nic, Russia's defense ministry says Ukraine is trying to distract from its struggling offensive and provoke Russia into taking similar actions. I mean how is Ukraine doing on the front lines? And what should we expect going forward this year?

ROBERTSON: Yes, this year has not gone as well for Ukraine as they hoped. They are still hoping that the weapons supplies will continue, they're hoping that they can have a better year on the battlefront.

There are clearly political internal tensions, not least between the defense minister who doesn't seem to think that they can have a major breakthrough even next year, and the president who is still, you know, modestly hopeful that can be the case.

But I think what we're also watching here is Putin being as and acting as insidiously and divisively as he always does.

Just take one tiny element of today, the claim about using cluster munitions. They blame that on the Czechs for providing those cluster munitions. To me, this smacks of Putin trying to divide the European Union. We know that the Slovaks have just had an election, they just voted in a right-wing Nationalist government that tends to be more pro-Putin than their surrounding neighbors. We know that Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister is much more pro-Putin than most other leaders in Europe.

Putin plays on these divisions, and it seems today he's trying to play on these divisions between the old, you know, former single country, Czechoslovakia, the Czechs and the Slovaks. And Putin does this.

So, all the machinations, whether it's in the E.U. about giving Ukraine the money that they wanted to give them, whether it's the United States, the political machinations there, Putin takes advantage.

Today is not just about sending missiles. It is about the time that everyone gets to argue about it, but dividing his enemy, which is, his enemy is Europe, European countries, and it's at it today, the little fewer every day, every time.

REID: Kim, same question to you. What do you see unfolding over the next year?

DOZIER: Well, continued difficulty among those in the Biden administration, across the Western coalition to keep that coalition together, and to keep supplies going into Ukraine.

And as Nic's saying this is what Putin is counting on. Just look back to the example of Syria. Basically Putin put in just enough to keep ally Bashar al Assad fighting and all these years later, the western effort eventually collapsed, Bashar al Assad is in power unchallenged, and Putin wins.

He's hoping the West will do the same thing with Ukraine. Eventually lose -- not possibly interest, but lose the will to keep supporting them, and eventually give up.

REID: An important reference there to Syria. Speaking of, Kim, the U.S. just announced $250 million in military assistance to Ukraine, but the Biden administration is still trying to get Congress to pass $60 billion more in funding.

[17:09:55]

REID: Do you think that this attack on Russia will make passing that aid package even more difficult?

DOZIER: Again, the back and forth is going to muddy the waters, and for those within Congress who are against giving more aid to Ukraine, or those who are on the fence and say, that money needs to be spent inside the United States, they're going to use it to pull the two sides apart and make it even harder to pass some sort of aid package especially when they can also beat up the Biden administration in this upcoming election year and say, you have to agree to do something about the U.S. border with Mexico before we give aid to a country that's far away.

REID: Nic Robertson, Kim Dozier, thank you.

And next, we have breaking news. A new court filing tonight from special counsel Jack Smith, responding

to Trump's claim of presidential immunity. The legal and political implications, next.

And immigration is shaping up to be one of the major issues of the 2024 election cycle with Homeland Security reporting a record number of encounters this month. We're talking with the mayor of a Texas border city who's witnessing the influx first-hand.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:11:16]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: Breaking news: Special counsel Jack Smith is pushing back against Donald Trump's claim of presidential immunity. Smith writes in a new court filing tonight, that granting a former president absolute immunity from criminal prosecution, quote, "threatens to license presidents to commit crimes to remain in office."

So, let's discuss this with CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Alice Stewart. Thank you for being here with us.

I want to start with this new filing from Jack Smith. I had one of Trump's former lawyers Tim Parlatore on a short time ago. He said, look, this question of presidential immunity, Trump's not going to win here, but just by appealing this, he may win on his strategy of delaying this trial until after the election. Parlatore told me it's 50/50 whether this trial actually goes before November.

Maria, I want to get your take on what happens if Trump does not see the inside of a federal courtroom before the 2024 race.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I think we all knew from the very beginning when Trump and his legal team were trying to do everything to claim immunity, to push back on all of his legal woes, and it would take us an hour to list them all here on this program, Paula, we all knew that his strategy would be to draw this out as long as he could so that none of this actually -- none of this actually is something that voters will see him inside a courtroom, to your point. They have seen him inside a courtroom before and it's not a pretty sight.

But I think at the end of the day, even if he is not inside a courtroom, Paula, I think it is degrading and it does hurt Trump going into the 2024 election. Perhaps not the GOP primary, we have seen that almost nothing hurts him there, and that every single thing that goes against him helps him in the GOP primary.

But in the general election, it's a completely different story. We already saw that the general public has rejected the MAGA agenda in 2018, they rejected Trump himself in 2020, they don't want the chaos, they don't want the indecency/ And he has since even become much more chaotic in terms of what he would do. And the reminder, every single time that something happens in the

legal aspect of what he's going through reminds voters, independent voters, women voters, those decent voters that don't want to go through another four years of trauma to their emotional well-being and their mental well-being, understand that this is not somebody who is fit to have office anymore, especially the highest office in the land, especially when he has already been convicted and has been in trouble in court and, frankly, somebody who has tried to overturn a fair and free election and destroy our American democracy.

REID: Alice, I want to pose this to you, as well. If the former president is not prosecuted in either one of the special counsel's cases this year, what is the impact for his chances in November?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think that certainly remains to be seen. Look, his -- we've already known and seen that his base is not going anywhere, regardless of how the legal proceedings are played out in court.

But the question is, undecided Republican voters or Independent voters, they're looking for potentially a reason to turn the page, and there's quite a big possibility that if he is convicted of any of these charges, that that is the excuse, or the permission they need.

Look, if I can address this Jack Smith ruling today, look, this helps Donald Trump for three reasons. Every time there is a filing, every time he's kicked off a ballot, this helps Donald Trump for three reasons.

And Jack Smith case, what this does, this delays the inevitable legal process. This galvanizes Donald Trump's base, and this boosts his fund-raising. He probably already has a fund-raising email out on this right now, and he uses these as he does with all of these legal issues. He has lumped them all into one basket, saying that all of these are the same, when we know they are not; saying that he is the victim here; this is a weaponization of the Justice Department, and legal -- legal jeopardy that he's found himself in and liberal justices, liberal D.A.s, liberal secretaries of state in Maine are going after him because he is the front-runner in this case, in this election.

[17:19:51]

STEWART: And that is how he's pushing this out there with his base, they buy into it, and this is just another example where he is going to say, I'm the victim, and it certainly, as we're seeing, is not hurting his poll numbers, and his support so far.

REID: Well, let's pivot to this question of ballot eligibility, right. He has now been removed in Colorado and Maine, however, both of those decisions are on pause while we're waiting to see if the Supreme Court weighs in here.

Even some of his political rivals like Chris Christie has said, that whole -- this whole idea that you're removing him from the ballot, either through the courts or through elected or appointed officials, makes him a martyr. Maria, do you agree?

CARDONA: I do think it makes him a martyr, but he was going to play the martyr regardless, Paula. And look, somebody who tried to overturn a free and fair election, somebody who tried to destroy our American democracy, somebody who has already said in his own words that he will be a dictator on day one, of course they're not fit for office. Of course they should not be allowed to run for the highest office in the land. Of course they do not show the qualifications that somebody should show to be eligible to run for that highest office in the land.

So, I'm glad that he's being kicked off of the ballot in all of these states. Will it make a difference? Probably not because at the end of the day, those states where currently he has been kicked off and we'll see whether that sticks, whether it goes to the Supreme Court and what they do are states that normally have been won by the Democrats.

So, I don't think at the end of the day it will make a difference in terms of the electoral votes. He will absolutely use it to underscore his martyrdom, but he will use anything, Paula, to underscore the martyrdom.

And we cannot forget, regardless of whether we think that this could be a political issue that he uses to his advantage, no one is above the law, Paula. No one, even a former president of the United States.

This goes to Jack Smith's claim about presidential immunity. It doesn't matter the political implications here. No one is above the law. And that, I think, should be the bottom line from our legal perspective, in a system where everything should be looked at in terms of whether you broke the law or not. And he has already broken the law.

REID: Well, I want to interject here for a second, we do have to clarify, in terms of legal process. He's facing federal charges, federal prosecution is different from what we're seeing here. And the question that even some of Trump's rivals are raising is whether the assessment of Trump's involvement in insurrection, his fitness for office, those determinations should be made by state courts and state officials, instead of the voters. I mean don't you think there's any merit to that question?

STEWART: Here's my take on this. Look, I think Donald Trump is wrong to question the outcome of the election, he was wrong to challenge the certification of the election, and he was wrong in many areas of what he has done to cause people to question whether or not we have free and fair elections.

But in regard to an insurrection, he has not been convicted of anything, so we need to take that into account. And when you have Democrats that are always screaming that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy -- a threat to democracy is a liberal secretary of state who took it upon herself to remove him from the ballot --

REID: Wait a second. She did not take it upon herself. That is the process in the state of Maine. She didn't raise her hand to say, I want to do this. Maine is unique in that the first stop for questions of ballot eligibility is the secretary of state.

STEWART: Right, but the voters -- most people, even Angus King, from Maine who's an Independent, says that that should have been up to the decision of the voters.

And then we also have it in Colorado, liberal justices who made the decision to remove him from the ballot.

Again, Donald Trump's challengers are saying, not necessarily in defense of Donald Trump, but we shouldn't have the justice system and secretaries of state unilaterally making the decision to take him off the ballot. This should be in the hands of voters.

And doing so any other way, that is a threat to democracy, taking the power of the election process out of the hands of voters and putting it into the justice system.

CARDONA: But let's also remember that in Colorado, it was Republicans who brought this suit. And so, again, I think across the board, what we need to remember here is that no one is above the law. And all of these things have gotten to the point of being in the hands of the court, because of processes that started with the democratic system, the democratic process that we should all respect right now.

And you know, the one person who doesn't respect our democratic system or our democracy writ large is Donald Trump. He tried to destroy it and has already he will do so again if he gets another four years at the Oval Office and we should not give him that opportunity.

[17:24:46]

REID: I will note that in the state of Colorado, the Republican Party in Colorado has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court. Among the questions they're asking the justices to weigh in on is whether their own First Amendment right has been violated because they believe they have the right to list whoever they want on the primary ballot.

But it seems what we can all agree on is we need some clarity from the Supreme Court here, because the 14th Amendment, the process for ballot eligibility, clearly very confusing for multiple states with different outcomes. The best thing for democracy, perhaps a little guidance from the high court.

Alice Stewart, Maria Cardona, thank you.

STEWART: Thanks Paula.

CARDONA: Thank you Paula.

REID: Communities and federal officials along the U.S./Mexico border say they are encountering migrants at the highest rate they've seen in 20 years.

Next, how the White House plans to address the growing issue heading into the new year. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:25:37]

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[17:30:04]

REID: Now, to the crisis at the U.S./Mexico border. Homeland Security officials say there's been more than 225,000 migrant encounters at the border this month alone, marking the highest monthly total recorded in more than two decades.

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met with officials in Mexico to discuss the border crisis. They described the talks as very productive, and plan to meet again next month.

Mexico's president says an agreement has already been reached to reopen U.S. border crossings that had been shut down due to the migrant surge.

CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us now.

Kevin, thank you so much for joining us.

This is clearly an issue that is top of mind for many voters, so, what is the White House doing about this?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and certainly this will be one of the top issues that they are contending with as they enter the new year, for the simple reason that it's so caught up in the president's other objectives.

And certainly, when you talk to officials, they do recognize this will be among the very central issues of the 2024 election.

And that is one of the reasons that President Biden dispatched this high-level delegation, a cabinet-level delegation to Mexico City this week, to talk to the Mexican president, Lopez Obrador, about these issues.

They did enter those talks with some pretty specific asks and goals. One of them is to convince the Mexican government to move some of these migrants, who are along the U.S. southern border, south in an effort to decongest some of the areas there.

They would also like Mexico to get better control of the railways. These are the lines that migrants take from South and Central America up to the U.S. border.

And then they are wanting to talk about some incentives, like visas that would help convince some of these migrants to stay in Mexico instead of coming to the United States.

Now, emerging from these meetings, officials were relatively pleased. They did say they feel like they had a good partner in the Mexican president, Lopez Obrador.

They did set this secondary meeting, a follow-up meeting to take place in Washington next month.

And what American officials said is that Mexico agreed to continue ramping up its enforcement measures. And also to crack down on smugglers, which is part of what's fueling the crisis at the U.S. southern border.

So you really do see the administration trying to pull every lever that it can to get a handle on this issue. And certainly, this is the diplomatic front.

You see them working in Congress. And this is where the immigration issue intersects with all of President Biden's, at least many of President Biden's other priorities.

You have these ongoing negotiations between Democrats and Republicans on toughening up some of the rules along the border. And that's in conjunction with approving new aid for Ukraine and new aid for Israel.

And it is sort of the confluence of all of these crises that the president is dealing with.

The president said he's willing to make significant concessions when it comes to things like toughening up asylum rules, when it comes to things like making deportations easier.

But he is caught in a political bind here. Certainly, he's under pressure from Republicans and even some Democrats, mayors and governors, who want him to do more to confront this crisis.

But on the other side, you have progresses, immigration advocates, who are concerned that some of the rules that are being talked about in Congress could amount to a reversion of some of the most restrictive policies we saw under President Trump.

So, this is clearly an issue that President Biden will continue to be working on as he heads back to Washington in the coming week -- Paula?

REID: Kevin Liptak, live in St. Croix where the president is on vacation, thank you.

The mayors of two Democratic cities are speaking out as Texas continues to send busloads of migrants to their communities, saying there needs to be a better approach to handling the migrant crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON (D-CHICAGO): We've had an uncoordinated approach. Without significant federal support, this is not sustainable.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NY): The federal government said to New York City, we're not going to do our job, you do our job. You take care of 4,000 people a week, you and your team.

I'm not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel from the federal government. (END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Joining us now, the mayor of Laredo, Texas, Mayor Victor Travino.

Mayor, this is an issue that's impacting states across the country. What is the federal response, if any, you've seen in your community?

MAYOR VICTOR TREVINO (LAREDO, TX): Well, first of all, thank you for having me.

You know, we're continuing to monitor the situation here, and I've been in contact with our congressman and the mayor of Eagle Pass.

And this is a global humanitarian crisis. It is not only an immigrant crisis. And these are modern immigrants. They are refugees fleeing from countries that people get murdered, tortured and killed.

[17:35:10]

This is something that we have to look at it as a global crisis, because most of the immigrants that are coming are not even from Mexico. They're from South America, Haiti, Venezuela, and sometimes the Middle East.

So, we have to get -- where's the World Health Organization? Where's the United Nations? Like they're helping other countries when they have situations like this, in Africa and the Middle East.

We have to get them involved. That's a situation that has to be looked at in a global situation.

These people have walked for miles and miles from -- from Mexico to Eagle Pass, 1,800 miles. Children walking 1,800 miles in the rain and the cold.

And then when they get into the U.S. as asylum seekers, they can't work. So, what do they eat?

This is a problem that doesn't stop here. There's a lot of ramifications. We have to get some solutions.

One of my first thoughts is that I call on the U.N. and the World Health Organization to be involved.

REID: Well, before we get to the U.N., what federal response, the U.S. federal government, what response or assistance have you seen in your community from the federal government?

TRAVINO: Well, at this point, there's not that much. They get bussed out, but that's the state, sate response. States are having the burden of immigrants that go there.

We need federal help for this, because this is a federal problem. And I wish we could have more federal assistance so we can cope with this, to cope for all these amount of migrants that are coming in and refugees, I'll call them refugees now.

But we do call also on the federal government to give us more involvement and more assistance.

REID: What did you make of the meeting between White House officials and Mexican leaders this week? They called it productive. What did you make of what came out of that meeting?

TRAVINO: I saw that, and I see where Mexico is coming from. These are immigrants, and people that are coming from other countries, they're passing through our country, and you will entice them to get asylum.

So what are we supposed to do? Use our resources when the U.S. is getting them into asylum? So that's one of the drawbacks, number one.

Number two is that we -- we kind of blame Mexico for all this immigrant crisis, and it's not them. It's from other countries.

So, we need to understand where they're coming from, what the focus is, and focus on the solution that -- this first meeting was important. I think more meetings could be held.

But people need to know that this is a global immigrant refugee crisis.

REID: Homeland Security officials say there has been a jump of more than 6 percent in the number of migrant children in federal custody. So, these are unaccompanied minors traveling alone.

What kind of resources do they need to help this incredibly vulnerable population?

TRAVINO: That's a definite, because here in Laredo, we're medically underserved.

We don't have enough resources. If the children get sick with pneumonia, which they are liable to get, with all the walking, we don't have a pediatric intensive care unit. They have to be flown out to either San Antonio or Houston.

The problem there is that if the mother has two, three other children, they're not going to take the whole family in the helicopter. So, that also poses a problem.

These are situations, ramifications that we never see that are coming until they're here.

So, these are things we need to create some kind of shelter, some kind of service for the children. They're the ones that are most vulnerable.

I see them in the streets. I saw a family where there were two little girls playing in the bushes, and they seemed to be very hungry. People can't work.

So, we need to get some resources. We need to get some aid for them. And this is a global problem, not only a U.S. problem.

REID: And I have to ask you about the bussing of migrants to other cities from Texas.

Last week, 14 busloads made their way to New York City. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says he sent more than 90,000 migrants to so-called sanctuary cities, as you heard in the introduction here. These mayors are asking for better communication and coordination.

So, how should this be handled, the movement of migrants from Texas to other states?

TRAVINO: Yes, I think that needs to be coordinated a little bit better, because people that will be receiving migrants need to have everything prepared.

They need to have the resources and before the buses get there, they need to know what's coming. So, a little bit more coordination would help.

REID: Mayor Victor Trevino, thank you.

TRAVINO: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

[17:40:01]

REID: And Israel's prime minister providing an updated timeline on how long the IDF will maintain a heavy presence in Gaza as the fighting spreads, leaving thousands of Palestinians with no safe haven.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: New this evening, strong words tonight from Israel's prime minister. Benjamin Netanyahu says the Gaza war is nowhere near its end, saying the Israeli military is, quote, "fighting with force" and new systems above and below the ground. We have the upper hand. We have killed more than 8,000 terrorists."

[17:45:02]

Netanyahu went on to say Israel's war against Hamas is at its, quote, "highest level," and will "continue for months."

Journalist Elliott Gotkine joins us now from Tel Aviv.

All right, Elliott, we have new comments from Netanyahu. They come as the Biden White House bypasses Congress to sell more weapons to Israel. What is the latest?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN JOURNALIST: Paula, that's right. This is the second time in a month that the Biden administration has bypassed Congress, which usually has 20 days to review these kinds of weapons transfers. This time around, it's about things like fuses and charges relating to

shells that the U.S. is sending to Israel, because, in the words of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, of the urgency of Israel's defensive needs.

And when he held his press conference this evening, on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Netanyahu went out of his way to thank the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translation): I greatly value the support of the U.S. for Israel. The support that was expressed last week in the U.N. Security Council.

And the way it was expressed in the decision of the American government for the additional supply of weapons systems for the IDF.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOTKINE: And Netanyahu also said that the fighting will continue probably for months, and certainly not until Israel has achieved its objectives, mainly of destroying Hamas and getting the more than 100- plus hostages who remain kidnapped in captivity in the Gaza strip back in Israel.

He said he's facing off international calls and international pressure to end the war before those objectives are met.

And another thing he said this evening is that the so-called Philadelphia Corridor -- this is the road that runs on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt -- will need to be under Israeli control once the war is over -- Paula?

REID: Elliott Gotkine, thank you.

And with 2023 winding down, we're looking at the people and events that made headlines this year.

Our Jean Casarez has a look at the top true-crime stories of the past 12 months.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Hundreds dead in mass shootings, cold case arrests and murderers on the run, all part of the top-10 crime and justice stories from communities around the country in 2023.

Number 10, a young girl kidnapped and found alive.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: They have found her and we are told she's in good health.

CASAREZ (voice-over): The Upstate New York elementary school student on a camping trip with her family, taken while riding her bicycle at the campground.

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (R) NEW YORK: We are leaving no stone, no branch, no table, no cabin unturned.

CASAREZ: Fingerprints on a ransom note left in her family's mailbox led to her and the arrest of 46-year-old Craig Nelson Ross Jr. He has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and other charges.

(on camera): Number nine, a daring escape leads to a weekslong manhunt.

(voice-over): Thirty-four-year-old convicted murderer, Danilo Cavalcante, got out of his Pennsylvania prison by climbing sideways up the walls in the exercise yard.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: I want to reiterate this man is very dangerous.

CASAREZ: Hundreds of law enforcement searched by land and by air while local communities lived in fear.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Danilo Cavalcante now armed but still on the loose.

CASAREZ: Cavalcante on the run, spotted on trail cameras and allegedly breaking into homes before being captured and returned to prison.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our nightmare is finally over and the good guys won.

CASAREZ: He now faces 20 new charges.

(on camera): Number eight, a 17-year-old Las Vegas high school student beaten to death by his classmates.

(voice-over): Authorities call it senseless. Ten students against one? This video is very graphic.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: What you see in the video, though, is approximately 10 subjects kicking, stomping, and punching.

CASAREZ: Police think it started as an afterschool fight over stolen headphones.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: He is on the ground not defending himself until the point where he becomes unconscious.

CASAREZ: Eight students arrested, ranging in age from 13 to 17, facing murder charges.

CASAREZ (on camera): Number seven, an arrest.

(voice-over): After more than a decade, unsolved killings on Long Island, New York. Nearly a dozen sets of remains found, including four on Gilgo Beach. Authorities long suspected a serial killer.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Rex Heuermann is a demon that walks among us.

CASAREZ: Heuermann is facing multiple murder counts involving three women. He has pleaded not guilty.

[17:50:02]

(on camera): Number six, a confession in the death of Natalee Holloway.

(voice-over): Eighteen years after she disappeared on a high school graduation trip to Aruba, the prime suspect in her death, Joran Van Der Sloot, admits to killing her.

Van Der Sloot flown by FBI agents to Holloway's home state of Alabama to face federal extortion and wire fraud charges.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Despite their grief, the Holloway family kept fighting for justice for Natalee.

CASAREZ: Van Der Sloot pleaded guilty, sentenced to 20 years for his financial crimes. He will serve his sentence while back in Peru where he is already serving a murder sentence for killing a Peruvian woman.

BETH HOLLOWAY, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S MOTHER: It's been a very long and painful journey but we finally got the answers we've been searching for, for all these years.

CASAREZ (on camera): Number five, an arrest in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur.

(SINGING)

(voice-over): The prominent rapper was shot while leaving a boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and died six days later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For 27 years, the family of Tupac Shakur has been waiting for justice.

CASAREZ: Duane Keith Davis, AKA, Keffe D., arrested. He is not accused of pulling the trigger but handing the gun to someone else.

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Duane Davis was the shot caller for this group of individuals.

CASAREZ: Police say Shakur had been in a feud with Davis and a gang he was affiliated with. Police say no other suspects in the shooting are still alive. Davis pleaded not guilty.

(on camera): Number four, from billionaire cryptocurrency whiz kid to convicted felon.

(voice-over): Thirty-one-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty in November of stealing billions of dollars from customers of this crypto exchange company, FTX.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This kind of fraud, this kind of corruption is as old as time.

CASAREZ: Before the company imploded, Bankman-Fried lived the high life. He could go to prison for life when sentenced. His lawyer says he maintains his innocence.

(on camera): Number three, a disgraced attorney, descendant of southern prestige, found guilty of murdering his wife and son.

(voice-over): Alex Murdaugh practicing law in the Low Country of South Carolina. Wealthy, a beautiful family, but secretly stealing clients' settlements and plotting the murder and coverup of those he should have loved the most.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't bring them back but we can bring them justice.

CASAREZ: He has filed a motion for a new trial.

(on camera): Number two, Tyre Nichols violently beaten by police.

(voice-over): Caught on camera, the 29-year-old repeatedly kicked by five Memphis police officers after a traffic stop and short foot chase. He died three days later. His death ruled a homicide.

ROWVAUGN WELLS, TYRE NICHOLS MOTHER: I know I'll never see him again but we have to start this process of justice right now.

CASAREZ: The five officers were charged in state and federal court. All initially pleaded not guilty. However, one later agreed to a plea deal.

(on camera): Number one, mass shootings kill hundreds of Americans.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So much loss in this community.

CASAREZ (voice-over): From the Lewiston, Maine, mass shooting where 18 were killed in a bowling alley and a restaurant --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is such a deep sadness here.

(voice-over): -- to the Covenant school in Nashville where three children and three adults died.

(GUNFIRE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have an active shooter in our building.

CASAREZ: A bank employee in Louisville killing five of his colleagues.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clearly, this community completely shaken.

CASAREZ: And Asian-Americans celebrating Lunar New Year in January. Eleven shot dead.

Twenty twenty-three was a year of more than 600 mass shootings in this country, according to the Gun Violence Archive. (END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: And new developments tonight. A legal fight against former President Trump's claims that he should have presidential immunity. Now, we'll take on that issue with our reporter, Zach Cohen, and what a new court filing tonight by Special Counsel Jack Smith reveals, next.

Also, new evacuation warnings tonight as monster waves slam the California coast. We'll have a live report.

[17:54:37]

Plus, a million people are expected to converge on Times Square for a big New Year's Eve party. What we're learning about the security preparations underway right now. And what you need to know if you're planning to attend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Reid in Washington. Jim Acosta has the night off.

We have breaking news. Special Counsel Jack Smith is refuting Donald Trump's claim of presidential immunity. Smith writes in a new court filing tonight that granting a former president absolute immunity from criminal prosecution, quote, "threatens to license presidents to commit crimes to remain in office."

[17:59:54]

And we're now learning that the special counsel made an unusual request to implement any ruling pretty soon after they reach a decision. That could mean Trump's team would have to file new appeals but also fast track that case out of the 2024 election.